1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to doors for vehicles and, more specifically, to an energy absorbing door for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to construct doors for vehicles such as automotive vehicles. Typically, the door includes an inner and outer panel joined to each other and connected to vehicle structure in a known manner. The vehicle door also includes a decorative door trim panel mounted on the inner panel.
It is also known that vehicles may collide with obstacles during operation. As a result, automotive vehicles have provided various structures to lessen the effects of a collision type impact on an occupant compartment of the vehicle. For example, some automotive vehicles include an air bag to lessen the effects of a frontal collision type impact. As to a side collision type impact, some automotive vehicles include foam material or cone shaped structures for the vehicle door. While these approaches provide a distinct advantage in lessening the effects on the occupant compartment during a collision, they suffer from the disadvantage that they cannot be tuned to meet side collision type impact requirements. Another disadvantage is that they suffer from a relatively high weight and cost for a vehicle door.